This invention relates to sealing of cables, for example, at the points of entering and exiting an aerial closure or terminal.
Telephone lines strung across poles require aerial closures and terminals at frequent intervals. A closure is a housing used to protect a splice in the cable, while a terminal is a housing which not only protects a cable splice, but also includes termination points so that a wire pair can extend from the main cable to the customer's premises. A typical closure or terminal includes a cable adapter, also known as a boot, where the cable enters and exits the housing. The boot is made from a hard material in two halves which are fastened with an eye-hook around the cable. The surface of the boot through which the cable passes includes a series of perforations which can be removed to adjust the size of the opening in the boot to fit the cable. A compliant material is also installed adjacent to this surface of the boot and includes a similar series of rings which can be removed to conform to the size of the cable. ( See U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,499 issued to Faust, which is incorporated by reference herein.)
The combination of the housing, boot and compliant material provides effective protection for the splices and terminations within the aerial closures and terminals. Specifically, the hard material of the boot prevents entrance of rodents into the housing, and the compliant material seals the housing from water and other outside contaminants. However, there is a problem with this design since the compliant material requires a radial slit through each perforation to permit installation of the material around the cable. This slit may fail to close completely if the hole formed by the removal of the rings in the material is slightly smaller than the diameter of the cable. Conversely, if the hole is made too large in order to ensure closing the slit, a circular gap between the cable and material can result.
It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a housing including a sealing system for sealing the contents of the housing from outside contaminants.